A’s send Andrew Bailey, Ryan Sweeney to Red Sox

The only surprise about the A’s trade of Andrew Bailey was that it didn’t happen sooner: Bailey, the two-time All-Star closer, was expected to be dealt away much earlier this winter because so many teams needed closers.

As those clubs filled those spots, however, the market for Bailey receded a bit, and the A’s might not have gotten maximum value for him, sending Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney to the Red Sox for outfielder Josh Reddick and Class-A players Miles Head and Raul Alcantara. Head is a first baseman that the A’s plan to have play third, and Alcantara is a right-handed starter who the A’s tried to acquire in the proposed, then nixed, Rich Harden deal with Boston in July.

One major-league scout I spoke to said the A’s were “abused” in this deal, saying they essentially traded Bailey and Sweeney for a player much like Sweeney. A major-league executive with another club told me he was surprised Oakland didn’t just wait to deal Bailey at the All-Star break, when his value might be higher.

Reddick is two years younger than Sweeney and he has just over a full season of big-league service time, whereas Sweeney is heading toward arbitration for the second time. Reddick also has a lot more power potential than Sweeney. Head is 20 years old, Alcantara is 19. By now, you’ve all heard the mantra: the A’s are compiling young players to be ready to be part of a good core group for a potential new stadium in three years.

Bailey has been braced for a move all winter, and he told me by phone, “I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s exciting. … Everyone knows what direction the A’s are taking, and like I told Billy Beane today, I’ll always appreciate them giving me that opportunity out of spring training, but they’re trying to get younger, they’re rebuilding. I’m going to a proven winner, I’m excited to pitch in meaningful games in September and the playoffs, hopefully the World Series.

“You can’t be too upset. As a player, you want to win, first and foremost, and the A’s are rebuilding for down the road. I’m grateful that I have enough value to maybe help them do that.”

Bailey has become friendly with Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine through charity work; Valentine has MC’d Bailey and Craig Breslow’s Strike 3 Foundation events, and Bailey is eager to work with Valentine on the field.

Bailey’s friends are already teasing him that he’ll be like “a rock star” in Boston, but Bailey said with a laugh that he will be his usual, easy-going self. “Different colors on my back, but nothing else will change,” he said.

Sweeney knows this drill already; the A’s acquired him from the White Sox in the Nick Swisher deal. He said he got deja vu today because, like that time, he found out this time via voice-mail message. He laughingly told me he thought it was weird he’d have a message from Beane on his phone.

Like Bailey, Sweeney is excited about the move. He knows he’s going from a place where he might have had everyday playing time (the A’s outfield is beyond unsettled) to a spot where he’s likely to be a role player, but Sweeney said that Valentine and Boston GM Ben Cherington told him they think he can play Fenway Park’s big right field well and that his line-drive stroke is well-suited for Fenway.

“I’m looking forward to playing for a winning team,” Sweeney said. “And hopefully winning a championship.”

Reddick told me that GM Beane and manager Bob Melvin have told him to be ready to play every day. He’s most comfortable in center field, he said, but he played mostly right field in his 87 games with Boston last year. Beane told me that the A’s like the fact that Reddick has experience at all three outfield spots, and the team will decide where he fits best during the spring.

Reddick is doing the reverse commute from Bailey and Sweeney, going from a contender to a team with many question marks that will be fighting to stay out of the bottom of the league.

“Playing in Boston was a pleasure,” he told me. “Fenway has so much history, the fans are so supportive and they get into the game. It’s tough to leave something like that, especially when it’s your first team. But whoever you’re with at the time, you’ve got to focus.”

With Bailey’s departure, Grant Balfour is likely to be Oakland’s closer. If he’s traded, Brian Fuentes would be the probable closer. If he’s traded, it probably would be Joey Devine. In fact, with a good spring, Devine just might win his onc- projected job back, anyway, because Balfour and Fuentes are best in set-up roles. Fautino De Los Santos remains the closer of the future, but if the team doesn’t have to rush him, they won’t.

“Joey certainly could be a consideration,” Beane said.

The Red Sox appeared to have interest in Bailey right from the get-go, with the departure of their own closer, Jonathan Papelbon. Beane confirmed that was the case, and at points last week, the A’s were talking to Boston about a deal that also would have sent Gio Gonzalez to the Red Sox. Once Gonzalez went to Washington, much of the framework was already in place to complete the Bailey trade.

A source tells me Sweeney was added in to ensure that the A’s got Alcantara in the deal; Boston had hoped to substitute another player. Alcantara was the player to be named the Red Sox removed from the Harden deal after seeing Harden’s medical records, and when he was pulled from the deal, the A’s called it off.